Provincial governments around the country are failing in supporting rural health services to the people.

As a result bulk of the rural health centers and village aid posts are non- functional or struggling to serve the people, forcing the rural mass to migrate to towns and cities in search of better health care even for curable ailments that are supposed to be treated at village aid posts.

This is one of the findings by special parliamentary committee on public sector reform and service delivery, that undertook investigations into the country’s health services management.

The findings in a 51 page report would soon be tabled in Parliament. The committee headed by Goroko MP Bire Kimisopa as chairman found that provincial governments around the country are simply not expending sufficient funds on rural health sector.

During their visits around the country, the committee also discovered lack of maintenance and upgrading of health facilities in respective provinces.

Mr Kimisopa said as a result, the committee discovered that even after 40 years of independence, bulk of the government owned rural health facilities are in shambles, deplorable state, lacks maintenance while only church run facilities despite adversities still reach out to the people.

The provincial health authority (PHA) amendment act 2013 which provides section 38 for national government funding of provincial hospitals but requires no counterpart funds from the provincial government for rural health services vide full commitment of health functional grant monies.

‘”This is a situation which the committee believes must be changed,” Mr Kimisopa said.

Mr Kimisopa said the committee also noted unequivocal evidence that the national department of health (NDoH) has failed in its responsibility to provide medical equipment to facilities.

He said the NDoH as shown was unable or unwilling to remedy funding issues while drugs needed are simply not reaching health facilities in a timely manner if at all.

“The NDoH is presiding over a revised drug supply system that is wasteful and inept,” Mr Kimisopa said.

He said further the NDoH is a department unable to implement effective workforce planning and this has resulted in continual deterioration of service delivery.

The committee will be holding a public hearing at the B2 conference room of the Parliament House from the 16-20 Nov 2015 where senior NDoH personnel and provincial government representatives would be summoned to present their cases before the committee.